The number of Canadians turning to the black market for weed is declining

A remarkable 5.4 million people reported using cannabis in the past three months

Amongst Canadians aged 15 and older, a remarkable 5.4 million people reported using cannabis in the last three months, a four per cent jump from those who said that were cannabis users a year ago.Associated Press

The number of Canadians buying cannabis from illegal sources has declined by 13 per cent in the last year, in what is one of the first official signs that the legal cannabis market is slowly but surely chipping away at the black market.

According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, an estimated 38 per cent of Canadian cannabis users obtained cannabis from the black market in the first three months of 2019, as opposed to 51 per cent in the first three months of 2018.

“A similar decrease was noted for the proportion reporting friends or family as a source (47 per cent to 27 per cent,” Stats Can said.

The number of Canadians using legal cannabis in that same time frame also surged from 23 per cent of users, or 954,000 people to 47 per cent of users, or a whopping 2.5 million people.

Moreover, the Statistics Canada data pointed out that recent cannabis consumers, that is, those who began using the substance over the past three months were less likely to buy their weed from an illegal source, yet another indication that the legal market is becoming more of a go-to option for Canadians.

Forty per cent of veteran cannabis users chose to purchase illegal weed, as opposed to 23 per cent of recent users.

Overall, the number of Canadians using cannabis has gone up substantially over the last year, during which legalization took place. During the first quarter of 2019, 646,000 Canadians reported trying cannabis, compared to just 327,000 a year prior.

Among Canadians aged 15 and older, a remarkable 5.4 million people reported using cannabis in the past three months, a four per cent jump from those who said they were cannabis users a year ago.

But although the number of cannabis users is increasing in Canada, their demographic appears to be relatively unchanged — cannabis users remain predominantly male and young. For instance, 22 per cent of Canadian males consume cannabis, compared to 13 per cent of females. Usage was also substantially higher (30 per cent) among 15 to 24-year-olds compared to those aged 25 and above (16 per cent).

Most of Canada has suffered from a supply shortage of cannabis, as licensed producers continue to struggle to harvest at scale, and smooth out supply chain hiccups. The acute shortage led the Ontario government to cap the number of cannabis retail stores to just 25 across the province — only 15 have opened for business, to date.

Yet Statistics Canada observed that while the rate of cannabis consumption remained steady across provinces over the last year, Ontario saw a jump in cannabis usage from 14 per cent to 20 per cent.

The cannabis industry is forecasting a surge in new cannabis users later this year, when edibles, concentrates and topicals become legal for recreational use.

In mature cannabis markets like Colorado and Oregon, demand for flower decreased over time, while demand for cannabis concentrates in vape pens surged dramatically, bringing the overall user count higher in those two states.

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